A Small Adjustment
by Itachi's Husband
Summary: [AU] Deidara was excited to be getting adopted and moving to a new place. He was even more excited when he met his adoptive parents and even more so when he learned that they had a big family. His excitement declines tremendously when he finally meets the rest of the family at the airport for the first time.
1. Prologue

Author's note: I've written this story each summer, approximately 7 times thus far. I will explain a little more in-depth another day, but for now, just know that this story never makes it very far, and I stopped writing it in August of 2014. However, this re-write has been the longest re-write to date, so there's hope for this fic...there's hope. And who knows? Maybe I'll continue it. (PS I once published one of the early re-writes of this story on before called "An Act of Goodwill" by my former pen-name "Itachi012110" if you wanted to read it, or have read it before when I was still Itachi012110.

Oh, and be warned, the plot is very vague. Even I don't really know where it's going...

And one more thing: it does take place in the United States, primarily in Minneapolis, Minnesota and there is mention of several other states across the country. Note, I've never personally been to Minneapolis or Minnesota, or many of the other states for that matter, so please bear with me (and if any of you are from Minneapolis or have ever been there to visit, please tell me what it's like so I can be more accurate with my facts. A person can only get so far with their local weather station and online maps...that goes for the other states mentioned...it would be a help, that's for sure.)

* * *

When I was little, I used to draw pictures of what I thought my parents looked like. The orphanage director always said that I looked just like my mother, blonde haired, blue-eyed and with freckles all over. So I started with that. A skinny stick figure with yellow hair that flared at her shoulders, blue circles for eyes, little orange dots covering up almost every inch of her face, a big smile drawn in red crayon and a triangular purple dress.

The orphanage director had never met my dad so drawing him was a bit more difficult. In my mind, he had long blonde hair, like me, because I thought that if it was okay for a boy to have long hair, then my dad must have had long blonde hair like mine. He too had blue circle eyes and a big red crayon smile and was basically a taller version of the drawing of my mom. "Daddy and mommy" I had written across the top of the page, with a little bit of adult help with the spelling, in green letters that progressively grew smaller as I began to run out of space for them.

As time passed, I began to lose hope in the idea that my mother would come back for me and started to spend more of my time imagining what my future mother would look like instead. Would she be a Latina working alongside her husband at a family owned restaurant somewhere close to home? Or maybe she'd be a red headed woman who drives a jeep and loves to hike through the desert? Or maybe, just maybe, she'd look the way I imagined my mother would.

Half a year ago, I met the woman that would be my mother and the man who would be my future father, Konan and Yahiko.

Konan had dark brown mahogany hair that was cropped just before her shoulders, silver irises that held a certain intensity to them because they were so bright and inquisitive, but also a sense of mystery accentuated by her dark mascara. Her skin was pale and her face was flush from the change in temperature. They were from Minnesota, where it was below freezing and snowing every day, whereas I was from Arizona, where it was a chilling forty degrees for the desert, but nowhere close to snowing or anything like that.

Yahiko had auburn hair parted on the side and neatly combed back from his face. His eyes were brown and penetrated deep into my soul. He was intimidating, but his voice was friendly, which helped me ease up a bit.

Both dressed professionally, as though they had just left from an important meeting just to come out here and meet me which probably wasn't far from the truth. Yahiko was the CEO of his own company, and Konan was the COO just below him. They were definitely important people.

"Well, Deidara, it's been nice meeting you." Yahiko had said to me, rising from his chair and extending a hand for a handshake.

I hesitantly took it, surprised by the firmness of his crushing grip but not really wanting to let go either. "It was nice meeting you too."

"Would you like to be a part of our family?" He asked me.

"Of course!" I blurted out, immediately wishing that I could have responded more calmly instead of acting like a kid desperately wishing for a real home and a family to go with, no matter what.

"Good. We have a big family," Yahiko said, voice trailing as though he had expected me to object.

"That's okay!" I blurted out again, and mentally cursed myself for acting so childish.

Meanwhile, Konan was whispering something to Yahiko and glancing back at me. Yahiko shrugged it off and smiled. "Well then, you're in for a quite a surprise." He said. "We'll be seeing you soon, Deidara, take care."

"You too!" I waved and watched them as they walked out the door.

Ever since then I have been patiently waiting for the day when I would be walking right behind them, through the doors of my new home.

"Attention, passengers, we have landed in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, thank you for choosing to fly with us and enjoy the rest of your day." The flight attendant announced over the intercom system.

Today, six months later, that moment has finally arrived.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to comment in the reviews section what you liked the most or didn't like or whatever - comments make me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside and motivate me to write more. If you don't comment, that's fine too.

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


	2. Chapter One: Surprise

Author's note: Let me just say that I broke a lot of rules concerning the laws and logic of adoption in this story, and quite frankly, I don't really care. My goal for this fic is not to make it as realistic as possible; it's to entertain y'all. If you want something a little more thought out and researched, my other fic, Parallel Lines will offer you that. This is the oldest fic I've uploaded so far, and it's the least thought out, but I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (and there will be more chapters to come, I promise!)

* * *

You know that feeling when you're really excited about something and can't think about or focus on anything else? That's how I felt when the plane landed. The moment I heard the flight attendant announce that we had landed, my body moved on auto-pilot. I can't remember the specific details from the plane to the airport terminal, I just remember getting out of my seat, eagerly waiting in line behind the other passengers to get off the plane and weaved my way through the crowd in the terminal. I wasn't in the mood to take in those details. I just wanted to see my adoptive parents again.

As excited as I was, I felt strange. Here I couldn't wait to meet my new parents, to call them mine, to experience and embrace this new lifestyle of theirs, and to finally have a place to call a home. Yet, at the same time, I hadn't completely lost hope in my real parents. My mother was out there, somewhere, she had to be, and yet, here I was across the country, possibly as far away from her as I've ever been, farther away from running into her in the street.

I sort of felt as though I was betraying them, my real parents, by moving on and living with a new family.

But all of that changed when I saw them, my adoptive parents, standing side by side waiting for me.

If anything, I thought, my real parents betrayed me by dropping me off at an orphanage. They were the ones who left me behind, and now I was leaving them behind for people who actually wanted me to be a part of their family.

Possibly the most important moment of my life thus far was a complete blur. All I remember was running up to them and embracing Konan, my new mother in a tight hug, never wanting to let her go.

"Welcome home, Deidara." Yahiko said.

"Did you have a good flight?" Konan asked me.

I simply nodded into her stomach. It was all I could manage. If I looked into her eyes, I'd probably start crying because of the emotions that this day brought with it.

Konan and Yahiko seemed to understand. "Come," Yahiko said. "Let's go meet your new siblings."

That's right. I almost forgot. When I first met Konan and Yahiko in person, they mentioned that they had a big family and would have a surprise waiting for me when I saw them again. This, I assumed, is what they had meant.

But I couldn't help but wonder what the surprise was. Were they all girls? Were they all older than me? Younger than me? Were they all adopted too?

When we got on the escalator that led to baggage claim, I soon found my answer. Sitting in the chairs by baggage claim sat five people.

Four of them had suitcases.

"The one with the red hair is Nagato, he's a close friend of ours, but starting today, the other four are going to be your new siblings." Konan explained on the way down.

"But why do they all have suitcases?" I asked her. They were all staring at me.

"They're in the same situation as you." Yahiko said. "They just arrived here today as well."

"They did?"

"Yes. The others should be arriving shortly."

"Wait, there's more?"

"Yes." Konan said. "Please find your suitcases and wait with Nagato and the others while we greet the others when they get off of their planes, okay Deidara?"

"Okay." I said.

And with that, they left just as quickly as they came.

I don't know what I was expecting. To be their one and only child whom they'd love unconditionally? To be loved so much that I'd forget the pain of being orphaned for most of my childhood and act like it never happened?

When they said they had a "big family," I guess I expected to be greeted at the airport by five other kids varying in age, with a big banner that said "welcome to the family" or something like that on it and just blend into their family over time. Getting a hug and a quick "hello" along with the same "they're in the same situation as you" speech that these other four people got was the furthest thing from my mind.

But at least I had a family and a home. Now all I had to do was make the best out of it as I headed towards baggage claim.

"You must be Deidara," Nagato greeted me when I got closer. "I'm Nagato, nice to meet you." He said with a wide smile and a firm handshake.

I wasn't sure what to make of Nagato except for the fact that his breath smelled like smoke, and his clothes wreaked of it too. In addition to that, his teeth were stained and his skin was wrinkled and sagging like an old woman's does. He looked like he could keel over any second. "It's nice to meet you too, sir." I said, returning his handshake.

"Why don't you get your bags and come sit down, take a moment to meet your new brothers here."

"Sure." I muttered and headed to fetch my suitcase.

Being an orphan, I didn't have the luxury of spending a lot of money on clothes and such. If I ever got the opportunity, I spent most of it on art supplies and accepted hand-me-downs to wear instead.

Once I found my worn green suitcase, I walked to where the rest of the group was sitting and got a crash course introductory session with everybody. "Deidara, this is Kisame, Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Zetsu." Nagato said.

"Wait, what's his name again?" I asked and pointed to one of what I assumed was a twin.

"Zetsu."

"Then who's that guy?"

"Zetsu."

"You just said that he's Zetsu." I argued. Obviously I was missing out on some sort of prank as both twins were snickering at me. "I'm confused." I relented.

"Both of our names are Zetsu." One of them answered.

To answer my silence, the other one replied "Our parents were hippies." He beamed.

"Do you have different middle names?"

"We don't have middle names." The other one said.

"No matter what, we'll both come running when you call us."

Okay. This was officially weird. I knew that my life would be a little different once I moved across the country and became part of a new family, but four siblings who were adopted on the same day, and a pair of twins with the same name was just ridiculous.

"Where're you from?" Another kid asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Phoenix, Arizona." I told him. "What about you?"

"Miami, Florida." He said. This was the kid who was smirking at me when I came down the escalator with Konan and Yahiko. He was tall and muscular, an athlete I assumed, and tanned, really, really tanned. He looked like he was from Miami.

"What about you guys?" I asked the twins.

"Wichita, Kansas." They both answered. One of the twins was paler than the other and more upbeat whereas the other one seemed to be more serious. Other than that, they looked alike, but I couldn't tell if they were identical or fraternal. It didn't matter if I could tell them apart or not, they both had the same name.

"And you?" I asked the last one.

"San Antonio." He spoke in a low voice with an accent. "Texas." He added.

"Look, boys, here comes Yahiko and Konan with your new sibling." Nagato said, pointing at the escalators.

There at the top of the escalators stood Konan and Yahiko behind a pale, dark haired boy. Both Konan and Yahiko were smiling and pointing at us, most likely explaining to the newcomer that he wasn't signed up for the type of family he was expecting and he didn't seem too happy about it either.

That was me not too long ago, in that same spot.

"Itachi, meet your new brothers, Kakuzu, Kisame, Deidara, Zetsu and Zetsu." Yahiko said, reciting the names of everyone sitting by the baggage claim from left to right. It was the first time I'd heard the names of the other two which gave me a chance to try to learn them. Kakuzu, Kisame, and Itachi, I repeated in my head.

"Itachi, this is Nagato, a close friend of ours." Konan said.

"Hi, I'm Nagato, nice to meet you Itachi." He said, standing up enough to shake Itachi's hand before sitting down shortly afterwards.

"It's a pleasure meeting you too." Itachi said.

"Why don't you get your bags and get to know everyone, Itachi?" Konan prompted.

"We're going back upstairs now to meet the next flight. Stay here with Nagato, boys." Said Yahiko.

"Just how many more people are they waiting for?" I asked the others when Konan and Yahiko were out of earshot.

One of the twins shrugged. The other replied "beats me."

"I was ready to go home once I got off the plane." Kisame said. "And when I asked what we were waiting for, they said 'your brothers' and told me to wait here. I was surprised when this guy came," he said, and nodded his head in Kakuzu's direction, "even more surprised when those two came" and then towards the twins who were too busy talking amongst themselves to hear him, "and now I just think it's funny."

I can imagine, I thought to myself, but I wasn't laughing about it yet.

At that time, Itachi was returning with a large black suitcase rolling behind him.

"Rich kid." Kisame chuckled under his breath.

"What makes you say that?" I asked him. Itachi didn't look like he came from a rich family. Yeah he had a big suitcase and his clothes fit him well, not like the hand-me-downs that I always wore. Perhaps his parents died recently or something? Or maybe he came from a wealthier part of the country than we all did, or at least, a wealthier part of the country than I did.

"So, where are you from?" I asked him when he sat next to me.

"New Haven, Connecticut." He answered.

"Wow. That's way on the other side of the country! I'm from Phoenix, Arizona."

"You're right. We live pretty far from one another. You're a long ways from home, aren't you?" Itachi asked me.

"Yeah." I said, attempting not to let the confusion of the past thirty minutes and the homesickness I was feeling show through.

"You think that's far?" Kisame interrupted. "I'm from Miami, Florida. Beat that!"

"Nuh-uh, Phoenix is farther from here than Miami!"

"Sorry kid, I hate to break it to you, but Florida's further south than Arizona and Miami's at the tip."

I was too busy arguing with Kisame to notice that Konan and Yahiko had returned again until one of the twins spotted them. "Head's up! Two new adoptees on the horizon and steadily approaching!" He announced loudly enough for the rest of the group to hear him.

"Okay, this is just getting ridiculous." Kisame said.

Nagato, who had been sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed, teeth clenched, and was bouncing his right leg the whole time, quickly stood up to greet the newcomers.

"Nagato, this is Sasori and Hidan." Yahiko said, first placing his right hand on Sasori's shoulder and then his left on Hidan's to indicate to Nagato who was who. "Sasori, Hidan, this is Nagato, a close family friend of ours. He's here to help out with the luggage."

"Who're they?" Sasori asked. He was really skinny, wearing worn charcoal colored skinny jeans that bagged at his sneakers, and a striped gray V-neck shirt. His hair was an unnaturally bright shade of red, probably dyed that way. It made me wonder what his real hair color was.

"They're your new brothers, starting today." Konan answered.

"-the fuck?" The other kid said. He had a sturdier build than Sasori, and was proud of it judging by the way he wore a sleeveless shirt that exposed his muscular arms. He wasn't as muscular as Kisame, but I wouldn't pick a fight with him. But what stuck out the most about him was his transparent blonde hair and bright magenta eyes. He was an albino.

"Hidan. Language." Konan hissed. "I thought I told you to cut down on your profanity months ago. Did you forget?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He muttered and went to get his bags.

"Why do they all have suitcases?" Sasori asked Yahiko.

"They all have suitcases because like you, they're joining our family today too. Go ahead, introduce yourself. Konan and I are waiting on one more person." He said, pat Sasori on the shoulder a few times and waited for Konan to meet him at the bottom of the escalators.

"Hi Sasori, my name's Nagato. Nice to meet you." Nagato said, extending his hand to a dumbfounded Sasori.

Sasori let Nagato shake his hand, not bothering to put in any effort to return the handshake and just stared at everything around him before asking "Are they fucking serious? I mean, what the fuck? I didn't sign up for any of this!"

"Hey!" Hidan yelled from the baggage claim. "How come he gets to curse without getting in trouble and I can't!?" He screamed, dropping his suitcase back onto the conveyor belt and hurriedly making his way over to Sasori.

"Sasori, language." Nagato scolded. "Yahiko and Konan don't allow profanity."

Shaking his head, Sasori turned towards the baggage claim area and muttered under his breath fuck this."

"-the fuck? How come he gets to swear without getting in trouble!? Get back here you bastard, I've got a problem with you!" Hidan raved.

His anger was only made worse by Sasori flipping the bird in his direction without so much as turning around to look him in the eye.

"Boys! Calm down now and Sasori, stop using obscene language before Yahiko and Konan get back or you're going to be in trouble before you even get home!" Nagato exclaimed, walking fast in order to prevent them from fighting if it came down to it, which it looked like it would any minute.

It was sort of comforting to know that not everyone liked Konan and Yahiko's little "surprise" when they got here.

"Hey, Kisame." I asked the tan muscular kid from Miami sitting next to me, hoping that that was his name.

"Hm?"

It was. "Did he just say that they were waiting for one more kid to arrive?"

"Who? Yahiko?" He asked. "Pfft. I won't believe it until we leave. Actually, I wouldn't put it past them to drag us back here again tomorrow to pick up another ten kids."

The thought scared me. Looking around, I counted eight of us so far, the kid that hardly ever talks, the twins, the two newcomers, the dark-haired kid, Kisame, and myself, plus one more made nine. To add any more than that, they'd have to be out of their minds or filthy rich. Or both.

"How big do you think their house is?" I asked Kisame.

"It's probably a mansion if they're gonna adopt this many of us." He chuckled. "Hey, look, here they come with kid number nine right now."

So far, I'd seen Konan and Yahiko appear at the top of the escalators where the flights arrive with a kid dressed head to toe in dark colors who looked less than thrilled to be here, a skinny kid with cherry tomato dyed red hair, an albino with a foul mouth, and now a kid with a mask on his face.

"What's wrong with his face? It's all scrunched up." One of the twins observed.

"He's wearing a mask, idiot." The other corrected.

"Why?"

"There's probably something mentally wrong with him."

"Is this the last one?" Nagato asked Konan and Yahiko but was looking at the newest addition.

"Yes. Nagato, this is Tobi; Tobi, this is Nagato, a close friend of ours." Yahiko said.

Tobi didn't speak, instead, he clung to Konan's side and attempted to hide behind her.

"Go on, say 'hi'." She prompted. "He's shy." She said with a smile to explain Tobi's actions.

Nagato waved it off. "That's fine. I'll get to know him soon or later."

"Let's go get your bags, Tobi, okay?"

Tobi nodded and followed Konan over to the baggage claim, never once letting go of her. The pair reunited with the group a few minutes later with Tobi's shiny dark blue suitcase rolling behind him.

"Alright guys, listen up." Yahiko called over everyone to draw in their attention. "Now that everyone's been accounted for, we're going to your new home."

"Finally." I heard Kisame mutter.

"We brought two vans with us today. I will be driving the blue van that you and Konan will be riding in and Nagato will be driving the white van that will be carrying all of your luggage. When we leave here, stay close to one another, do not run off and pay attention to your surroundings. You are not little kids that we need to look out for so I expect you to behave like adults. Understand?" Nobody objected. "Good. Make sure you have everything and let's go home."

As crazy as the day started out, things seemed like they were slowly falling into place. I got off the plane expecting to be met with my new mother and father, and five or so siblings with a welcome banner. Instead, I got a new mother and father, a smoker family friend/babysitter, and adoptive brothers who were in the same boat as I was heading to our new home. The last part threw me off, and I can't tell if how I feel about it yet, but in some ways, it could be worse.

Right?

* * *

And that's a wrap. I hope you liked it!

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


	3. Chapter Two: Meet the Family

"We should be at home in less than twenty minutes depending on the traffic." Yahiko said once we were on the road. "To pass the time, let's get to know one another, alright? One at a time," he emphasized, as if he knew this would backfire, "tell us your name, where you're from, and one of your hobbies. We'll start with you, Kisame."

Kisame smiled, straightened up in his seat and turned around to face everybody. "Hi, my name's Kisame, and I've been alcohol-free for three weeks now."

"Hi, Kisame." One of the twins said.

"Seriously?" The albino asked him.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. It sounded like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, so, yeah, you get the point." He laughed. "Nah, anyways, my name's Kisame, I'm from Miami, Florida,"

"You're close to Disney World!" The paler twin exclaimed. "Do you go like, every day or something!?"

"No, Disney's three hours away from where I live. I've been there almost every summer though."

"It's more than us. We've never been to Disney World or Disney Land before." Pale Zetsu said.

"Perhaps we can make that a family vacation in the future if you guys are interested." Yahiko said.

Pale Zetsu gaped. "That'd cost a fortune!"

"Idiot." Tan Zetsu cut in. "How much do you think adoption costs, let alone adopting nine teenagers?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He chuckled.

"Anyways," Yahiko said, getting the conversation back on track, "what's your hobby, Kisame?"

"I guess you could say, surfing? I mean, there was this guy who owned a surf shop on the beach that I used to help out on the weekends and during the summer, and I liked taking care of this one surf board that he let me use whenever I wanted. I couldn't bring it with me though."

"Unfortunately, the closest coast in Minnesota is the coast of Lake Superior, Kisame." Konan said apologetically.

"There might be a sports complex with an indoor wave simulator nearby." Yahiko added in.

"It wouldn't be the same." Kisame muttered.

"What about you, Hidan? Tell everybody your name, where you're from, and what your hobby is."

Hidan was the foul mouthed albino. "Alright. My name's Hidan. I'm from the Bronx, and my hobby is reading God's word." He said.

That was unexpected.

Everyone was speechless. He even caught the kid in front of me's attention, and it looked like he wasn't even paying any attention to him.

Pale Zetsu started laughing out loud, ending the awkward silence that had set in.

"God's word?" Masked kid asked.

"The Bible, shit-for-brains Hidan spat. "And what are you laughing at you little fucker!?" He asked the paler of the twins who was laughing at him.

"Hidan! How many times do I have to remind you about your language!?" Konan asked.

"The bastard didn't know that the fuckin' Bible was, and why're you yellin' at me for? He was swearing more than I was at the airport when you were waiting for him to get off the plane!" Hidan shouted, first pointing at the masked kid and then at the red head.

"Wait, you're from the Bronx?" The red head asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Where's the Bronx?" I asked Itachi who was sitting next to me.

"New York. It's an area next to Manhattan." He answered.

"Hidan. Apologize to Tobi and Zetsu right now." Yahiko demanded.

"Okay! Sorry Tobi, and yeah, I'm from the Bronx. What about you?" Hidan asked

"Brooklynn." The red head answered him.

"Moving on, Kakuzu, tell us your name, where you're from and your hobby." Konan said, diverting the course of conversation again.

Kakuzu was his name, the name of the kid who hardly ever talked that I couldn't remember. The fact that he never spoke was probably why I couldn't remember his name. He stated that he was from San Antonio Texas and that his hobby was reading old books.

Kakuzu, when standing, was very tall, wearing worn blue jeans and an old plaid shirt. He had naturally tan skin, darker than even Kisame's and had a touch of facial hair. He spoke in a low, grumbly voice that made me want to stay on his good side whenever possible. Reading old books didn't seem to suit him, but since landing in Minneapolis, I've met people with stranger hobbies…

"Old books? Like Shakespeare or somethin'?" Hidan asked. Kakuzu didn't give him an answer. "Borrrinnnggg." Hidan groaned, throwing his head back.

Next came Tobi, the masked kid, who spoke about himself like he was somebody else and never seemed to speak in complete sentences. "Tell them your name," Konan said, which defeated the purpose since they already addressed him by name. "Tobi" He'd said. "Where are you from?" She'd ask. "New Orleans, Louisiana." He'd said and didn't offer a hobby. Pale Zetsu had then asked why he wore a mask, earning him a sharp look from Konan in response. The kid had to have been mentally challenged.

Then it was my turn.

"My name's Deidara." I said, and turned around to smile at the twins and red head sitting in the back seat behind me. "I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, and my hobby is making art."

"What kind of art?" The red head quickly asked, apparently interested.

"So that's why you're wearing a sweater." Kisame commented. "Must be hot over there."

"It is." I replied in response to Kisame's question and then returned my attention back to the red head. "All kinds of art. I like to sketch a lot, take pictures, but most of the time, I like to sculpt in clay."

"Cool." He said.

And then it was Itachi's turn. I was anxious to know more about him since, like Kakuzu, he didn't say much. The difference between him and Kakuzu though, was that Itachi seemed to be a lot friendlier.

"My name is Itachi, I'm from New Haven, Connecticut, and I like to visit different kinds of cafés."

"What kind of hobby is that?" Hidan asked abruptly.

"Hidan." Konan snapped. "No more smart comments for the rest of the trip, you hear me?"

"What? I was just asking what kind of hobby going to cafés was! What if I said that my hobby was eating?"

"That's fine. He didn't say anything about your hobby, did he?" She asked him.

"No, but HE did!" He pointed at Zetsu.

"Enough." Konan said, and that was that.

After Itachi came the twins, who both shared the name "Zetsu," came from Wichita, Kanas, and both shared the same hobby of playing soccer which Yahiko seemed to appreciate. Lastly, the red head in the very back stated that his name was "Sasori" and that he was from Brooklyn, New York, and that his hobby was working on his type of "art" which was puppetry.

"Puppetry?" Hidan asked, about to comment until Konan gave him a sharp look.

"It's something my gran taught me that our family's been involved in for generations."

"And that's art?" I asked him. To me, art was the usual, painting, drawing, etc. Not making puppets.

"Sure. Art can be almost anything. I think of art as something that lasts long into the future and is eternal. If made right, puppets can last forever."

It was a strange hobby, but it was an interesting one.

"We'll be home in a few minutes, so we might as well tell you guys a little about ourselves too." Yahiko said. "As you know, I'm Yahiko and this is Konan, my wife, we live in Edina Minnesota, fifteen minutes outside Minneapolis. My hobby is reading; I have a vast collection of books inside of my study that any of you may borrow with permission." He placed special emphasis on the 'with permission' part.

"And my hobbies are origami and flower pressing." Konan added.

"It's just around the corner." Yahiko said, talking about the house.

Nagato arrived there first, the white van parked on the street in front of the house while he himself casually leaned against the back of the van, smoking a cigarette to Konan's annoyance. I knew he was a smoker.

Back in Arizona, the orphanage where I spent my early childhood was a large square building with a white stucco exterior to keep the heat out. It overlooked the main road and sat across from a service station. Most days, I'd sit watching out the window, watching the cars drive by or pull into the gas station. I always thought that maybe I'd see someone who looked like my mom pull in, or maybe I'd see her getting gas at the service station. After a while, I bitterly wondered why few of the many people who drove by the orphanage every day or went to the service station wouldn't stop in and see us, to see me and want to make me a part of their family.

But that all changed. When I'd lost hope in anyone ever adopting me, Konan and Yahiko did, and now I'm standing across the country, on a grassy green lawn, surrounded by looming trees with thousands of leaves staring at what looked like a stone castle, my new home.

"This place is huge." Kisame said.

"You think?" Tan Zetsu replied sarcastically.

Behind us, Konan was getting on Nagato's case for smoking a cigarette. "How many times do I have to repeat myself, Nagato?"

"It was just one cigarette, Konan!" He retaliated.

"That's what you said when you started, and that's what you said when you quit, and do you remember what it was you said when you were hospitalized for lung cancer? 'It's just one cigarette, Yahiko'." She said and ripped the cigarette away from him.

"Give that back, Konan! One more puff!"

"Absolutely not! You wreak of smoke, and this is the impression you give my kids?"

"I didn't have one cigarette when I met all of them at the airport, the least you could do is—"

"That's because they don't allow smoking at the airport Nagato!" She cried and with that, she threw the cigarette butt on the pavement and put it out with her high heeled shoes. Ouch. I did not want to get on her bad side.

Meanwhile, Yahiko lead us to the front door, while most of us were waiting for Konan to stop yelling at Nagato to get our suitcases from his van. "We'll get your suitcases later." He said, unlocking the door. "There are a total of four bedrooms in this house. The master bedroom is downstairs, that belongs to Konan and myself."

"And…?" Hidan asked.

"There are nine of you, and only three bedrooms upstairs. If you do the math correctly, there will be three of you to a room. Now, go."

And with that, Yahiko had raised the starting flag, shot the gun and released the hounds.

Kisame and the twins were fast and aggressive and tore into the house and up the stairs in an instant. Sasori, Kakuzu and I raced behind them while Itachi calmly walked behind and Yahiko stood at the door explaining to Tobi why everybody was running upstairs at light speed.

The foyer was two stories high as well as the family room, which was separated by an overhang which supported the hallway at the top of the stairs. The left side led to a dead end and a storage room, on the right there was a room with a few couches and a flat screen TV bigger than I had ever seen before. A living room or whatever on the second floor was cool, but all I cared about at the time was finding a big, empty bedroom to call mine so that I could hopefully pick who I got to room with.

So there's this hallway straight ahead that leads to two bedrooms. On the left, Kakuzu and Kisame were arguing, and on the right, the twins making themselves at home which left one more room.

I'd passed the third room without realizing it because I was distracted by the flat screen TV and saw a hallway. In the last bedroom, I was met with Sasori, calmly sitting on one of the beds.

"I'm not moving." Sasori said evenly.

Kakuzu and Kisame were arguing already. Hostile environment. They were also both really tall and intimidating.

"Even if you did manage to drag me out of this room, you'd still have to room with somebody else." Sasori added.

The twins were inseparable. I'd be the odd man out.

"You can stay or you can leave. Your choice. But I'm not moving."

Or I could room with Sasori. Skinny, punk style, from the opposite end of the country. Artistic.

"Can I room with you?" I asked him.

He looked surprised. "You're asking me for permission? Sure. Go ahead and sit down."

I smiled and glanced behind me when something caught my eye. "Can Itachi room with us too?" I asked, already walking out the door to grab Itachi's arm.

"Who?" Sasori called from inside the room. When I came back in with Itachi in hand, Sasori laid back down on the bed. "Oh. Him. I suppose you could've picked worse."

"Thanks, Sasori!"

"Pft. Don't sweat it." He said.

Hidan rushed in almost a second after Sasori said yes to our third member, swore under his breath and ran out again, missing the middle finger Sasori gave him on his way out.

Our room was small, not small like a prison cell where there's only enough room for a bed, but small enough to fit a bunk bed and a half, and two desks. It also had a walk-in-closet which was a plus. I never thought I'd ever in my life have a walk-in-closet.

"So," Sasori said, standing up and bringing his hands together with a loud clap, "we cool with this arrangement? Everybody likes each other?"

"I'm cool with it." I said.

Itachi nodded in affirmation.

"Good." Sasori said. "Now we need to figure out who gets which bed. I want the loft bunk with the desk underneath of it."

"Can I have the top bunk?" I asked Itachi.

Itachi shrugged. "Sure. I actually wanted the lower bunk."

"Well that was relatively painless." Sasori declared, climbing onto his bed. "I thought that I'd have to fight someone."

Bossy, rude, and aggressive are the words I'd add on to the list to describe Sasori. Potentially hostile environment.

Itachi: quiet and emotionless. No comment. Yet.

Yahiko and Konan ordered six types of pizza for dinner partially because they didn't know what foods everybody liked, didn't like, or was allergic to yet and because one pizza wouldn't easily satisfy eleven people.

During dinner I learned that Kakuzu, Kisame and Hidan were rooming together because apparently Kisame claimed the room, but walked out for a minute to check out the room across from it, saw that the original room was bigger and when he returned, Kakuzu was there. The twins picked the room across from them because it they didn't want to be separated, and between that room and our room, theirs was bigger. Somehow, despite his confusion at the concept of "go choose your own room," Tobi managed to beat Hidan and room with the twins who thought that Tobi was funny, which left Hidan to room with Kakuzu and Kisame.

Kakuzu didn't look too happy that he was rooming with Hidan, Kisame didn't sound happy when I saw him arguing with Kakuzu earlier, but seemed to be fine with it, and Hidan acted like he didn't care either way. As usual, the twins were in a world of their own, talking amongst themselves and Tobi was forever lost in space.

"Hey," Hidan said through a mouthful of pizza.

"Hidan." Konan growled.

"Why're you still here? Don't tell me you live in the basement or somethin'." He said, concerning Nagato, who had stayed for dinner.

"Hidan, that's enough." Yahiko said before Konan could say anything. "I've told you so many times today that Nagato is a close family friend of ours. We thought it would be nice for him to share this moment with us and invited him to stay for dinner as our treat and so that he could get to know you guys better."

"He's ruining the moment."

"Hidan!" Konan shouted.

"Konan, it's okay." Nagato attempted to cut in but was drowned out by Hidan's continuing outburst.

"You say that like it's a family moment that's going to go in the scrapbook, something that you're going to point out to your other friends, if you have any other friends, and say, 'that's our first dinner with our fifty adopted kids,' and when they say 'that one looks really old, who is he?' you're gonna say, 'oh, he's a close family friend.' You make it seem like it's a family moment, but it isn't a family moment at all.

"Hidan. Go upstairs." Yahiko said.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"I'm going to say it once more. Hidan, go upstairs. To your room. Now." He said.

Hidan glared at him, quickly stood up in his chair, gave Yahiko the middle finger, and said "Fuck you. Ass."

Yahiko didn't say a word. Even after Hidan had retreated upstairs and harshly slammed the door behind him, he said nothing.

"Talk about ruining dinner." Sasori muttered under his breath.

"Yahiko, I'm sorry. He has a point, I shouldn't have intruded." Nagato said, placing his napkin on his plate and rising from his chair. "I should leave."

"No. Stay. There's something I think we should explain to them while you're here." Yahiko said.

Nagato obeyed, sitting back down and glanced anxiously at Yahiko while he waited for him to continue.

"Konan and I," He paused. Konan looked down. "Konan and I were orphans too."

This came as a shock to everyone at the table who were all probably wondering the same thing that I was; how could two orphans grow up to become filthy rich business owners in a bustling city?

"Nagato was also an orphan. We all grew up together. Nagato, is like family to us. In fact, he's the only family that Konan and I have." He paused to look around the table at all of us. "Hidan may have a point. Was it right for us to have, what you guys probably thought of as a stranger, a co-worker, neighbor, or friend, join in on our first dinner as a family? However, Konan and I consider Nagato family. We never give it a second thought. Ever.

The way that Hidan handled this was not the right way to go. We," Yahiko said, gesturing to Konan, Nagato and himself, "have never wanted anybody's pity. That's why we struggled to get to where we are today, and the reason why we didn't tell you sooner that we were orphans too."

"Yahiko was hoping to use that as ammunition for a motivational speech one day." Konan chimed in.

Yahiko smiled slightly. "That's the summary Konan. The whole story will have to wait for another day."

"Whaddya think of Yahiko?" I asked Sasori and Itachi after dinner. Itachi was standing in the walk-in-closet, unpacking his suitcase and Sasori had just returned from asking Yahiko for tape to hang a few of his posters with.

"He's kick ass." Sasori said. "Did you see the way that he put Hidan's bitch ass back in his place?" He put the roll of tape in his mouth while he held the poster in place on the wall to tape it. "He's just like us, you know?" He said, turning around to look at me while his poster tilted. "I can only wish that I get this rich one day." He stretched another piece of tape. "Wonder how he did it."

"What about you, Itachi?" I asked from the top bunk.

I barely caught the corner of Itachi's lips quirk into a smile and then fade almost as soon as it appeared. "He's fair."

"He's fair?" Sasori asked, seemingly shocked by Itachi's answer and then shrugged. "I guess you can say that, but I'd hate to be on his bad side. He's probably just in a good mood because today's a 'special day'." He air-quoted.

I nodded.

"Whaddyou think, blondie?" Sasori asked me.

"What do I think?" Sasori nodded. "He's cool. I agree with what you and Itachi said. He's fair and I wouldn't want to be on his bad side."

The conversation grinded to a halt when Kisame appeared at the door. "You guys busy?"

I shook my head.

Sasori looked at me and then Kisame. "Not really. Just hanging out, why?" He asked.

Itachi stood up to see who it was from inside the closet.

"We're all hanging out here, wanted to see if you guys wanted to join in too."

"By 'we' do you mean, everybody else including Konan and Yahiko, or…" Sasori asked.

Kisame smiled and brushed off the comment as if Sasori was stupid to ask. "Nah, it's just us, no 'parents' allowed."

"Sure. Why not?" Sasori said and beckoned for Itachi and me to follow him.

Sitting around the couches were the rest of the group without the TV on. They were all staring at us. Hidan was there, smiling, like he was the leader or something.

"We were all talking about what happened to our parents. How we all got here." Kisame said by way of explanation.

I don't know why, but that took me by surprise. I never talked about my birth parents before, just how I pictured what they'd look like or how I thought that they would eventually come back for me. It's not something I was particularly comfortable talking to a group of strangers about. But then again, this group of strangers were officially my siblings.

"My parents were drug dealers." Hidan proudly announced.

"That's hardly something to be proud of, Hidan." Kisame said.

"Besides, you said that your dad sold drugs on street corners and that your mom was just high all the time." Pale Zetsu said.

"Same thing! Anyways, social services came for me when I was like five years old. I ran away when I was twelve, lived on the streets for about four months before the cops arrested me for theft and put me back in the system. And here I am, getting in trouble the first day here." Hidan said. "I don't think they're gonna put up with me for a year before they give me up. How much do you guys wanna bet?" He asked.

When nobody answered, he passed the spotlight onto the twins. "What about you guys? What's your story?"

"Fire." Tan Zetsu answered.

"That's it?" Hidan asked.

"That's it."

"Our parents were hippies and believed in all of these weird things." Pale Zetsu elaborated. "They thought that, like, these organic candles that they bought from a friend would open up our airways and purify us from the inside out or something like that and lit them all the time. Burnt down the house."

"Were you guys inside when the house burnt down?" Sasori asked.

Both of them shook their heads. "We were at a friend's house." Tan Zetsu said.

"I don't understand. How can a measly candle burn down an entire house with them in it and not know about it in time to get out? What the hell What kind of candles were they?" Sasori asked them.

They both shrugged. "They were really old." Pale Zetsu explained. "They were like, sixty something? Is that right? Sixty something?" He asked his twin.

"Late sixties." Tan Zetsu confirmed.

"Damn. How old were you?" Sasori asked.

"Seven." Pale Zetsu replied.

"That's tough." Kisame said, shaking his head. "My parents died when I was seven too, so I know what that's like."

"What happened?" Tan Zetsu asked him.

Kisame frowned and stared at the floor. It was odd seeing him without a smile on his face. Every time I looked his way today he was always smiling. "Boating incident. They both fell in love with the sea, and shared the same passion, but when I came along, my mom spent more time at home taking care of me. One day, my dad convinced her to come out to sea with him for an afternoon because it was a nice day. She didn't wanna leave me home alone, but I'd been home alone before and he promised her that they wouldn't be out long. Apparently, the weather turned nasty when they were already out on the ocean nowhere near land and the rest is history."

"How'd you figure out that they kicked the can?" Hidan asked.

"They didn't come back. That's how I knew first is when they didn't come back. After a while, I went over to the neighbor's house because I was worried. They took me in for a few days, made some phone calls and eventually a search party was sent out." He said, leaving it at that.

The room was filled with a heavy silence until pale Zetsu exclaimed "Thank God for neighbors!"

Hidan kissed a silver cross necklace that was tucked into his shirt around his neck. "Amen." He said.

"Really?" Kisame said to Hidan in response to his cross necklace, smiling once again.

"What?" Hidan asked.

"Are you really that religious?" Kisame asked in a friendly way.

Kisame's friendly tone earned him the middle finger and a "Fuck you!" from Hidan.

Throughout all the noise, Tobi remained silent, and appeared to be, at times, listening to all the commotion surrounding him or zoning out.

Looking around, I noticed that Kakuzu wasn't present. "Where's Kakuzu at?" I asked the group, immediately dispelling the argument centering around Hidan's religion.

"Beats the hell out of me." Hidan dismissed. "We all know that his parents probably got deported back to Mexico or something when they got here."

"He's Mexican?" I asked.

"No duh, blondie, didn't you hear the way he talks?"

I shrugged. "I guess."

"What about you?" Hidan asked me.

"Who? Me? I'm not Mexican!" I said. Just because I was from Arizona didn't make me Mexican.

"What happened to your folks?" He asked.

This came as a surprise. I came out here expecting to talk about the places where we were from and about ourselves. I didn't expect to be talking about the really deep stuff even though I was warming up to them after hearing all of their stories.

"Um…"

"I'll go." Sasori said. "Get the popcorn ready." A few of the others laughed. "My parents both served in the army. In fact, they fell in love in the army and after their tours were over, they came back here, moved in, mom got pregnant, they got married and moved from his apartment in South Carolina to stay close to my mom's family in New York. When I was two, my dad got called back, and then when I was four, my mom got called back."

"What'd they do with you while they were gone?" Kisame asked.

"I stayed with my Granny while they were gone. She lived close by. She pretty much raised me while they were serving in Afghanistan, and then they'd come back and then they'd both leave again and it'd be off to Gran's again for me."

"Did they…" Kisame started.

"Died in the line of duty." Sasori said, looking sad for a minute and then narrowed in eyes in annoyance. "But here's the real kicker: after they died, I expected to live with Granny until I was eighteen you know? And then move out and take a load off of her. Instead, she, my own grandmother, gave me up."

"Why?" Hidan asked.

"'I'm getting old,' she said, 'it's for the best,' she said." There was definitely resentment standing center stage in Sasori's tone of voice. It gave me an idea as to why he always acted to rudely.

"That's sad." Kisame said.

"Whatever. I don't care what happens to her anymore. I'm done." Sasori said.

It was in that moment that I decided that I'd share my story which wasn't nearly as bad as everyone else's. If anything, I figured that opening up brought us closer and made everyone seem more human. Sasori's story made me understand more about him than his hobbies or his favorite foods ever could have so what did I have to lose?

"I never knew my parents." I stated. "According to stories that the orphanage directors told me, my mom was really young when she had me and dropped me off at the orphanage because she couldn't support me."

"Teen mom?" Kisame asked.

"I guess so, I dunno." I shrugged. "I always imagined what she would've looked like. The orphanage directors always said that I looked like her. I'd always hoped that I'd see her one day and get to know her and ask her some things."

Kisame nodded in appreciation as well as Sasori. The Zetsus were smiling.

"No shoot-outs with the police?" Hidan asked.

I laughed. "No, no shoot-outs with the police."

"I'm sure that you've got some crazy car chase that ended up in explosions and mangled corpses, don't you?" Hidan asked Itachi.

Still smiling at our newfound camaraderie, I looked over at Itachi, excited to hear his story but instead looked over to an empty seat.

"Where're you going?" Sasori asked Itachi, who was heading back to our room.

"I'm tired." He said.

"Tired? C'mon! We didn't get to hear your story yet!" Kisame whined.

"Yeah, Itachi, everybody else shared!" I attempted, hoping that he would stay around if I asked him to, but he didn't. Instead, he closed the door to our room behind him, leaving the rest of us sitting around in silence.

"Maybe his story involved zombies." Hidan said after a while.

* * *

And yes, zombies are the answer to everything.

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


	4. Chapter Three: New Beginnings

Living in Minnesota feels like a dream that I never want to end. I know that sounds cliché, but it really does. I never imagined I'd get the chance to live in a big house with eight other siblings and wealthy parents. I thought things like that only happened in the movies and in books.

Our first full day living in MN, Konan cooked pancakes for breakfast while Yahiko sat sipping his coffee and asked us how we slept and what we wanted to do that day. A mom cooking breakfast and a dad drinking coffee at the table, just like I'd imagined.

Tobi was the first one downstairs, talking to Konan and Yahiko about something until he saw Itachi and me. After that, he scrambled to put his mask back on before I could catch a glimpse to see if he had a physical deformity in addition to his other "issues" and quietly made his way to the table with his breakfast.

The four of us, (Yahiko, Tobi, Itachi and me) were joined by tan Zetsu soon after followed by a bleary Kisame who complained that Hidan's snoring had kept him up all night. Pale Zetsu joined his twin almost an hour later, then Kakuzu, whom Itachi and I had seen upstairs early that morning, emerged with Sasori not too far behind. Lastly, Hidan woke up closer to lunch than breakfast running into Nagato on the way downstairs.

"Does he live in the fucking basement or something?!" I heard Hidan complain when I got out of the shower.

When I listened closely, I heard Konan yelling at him from somewhere else in the house. According to Konan, we needed Nagato to haul the groceries in his van if all of us were going to the grocery store to pick out what we wanted, which, Konan said, he was more than happy to help.

At the store, Yahiko and Konan had their own carts as they probably expected to pick up a lot while Nagato had a smaller cart to pick up his own groceries in.

There, the nine of us combined picked out five different kinds of cereal, three gallons of milk, and at least six bags of potato chips since almost everyone insisted that they have their own bag to themselves. After hearing that logic, Konan made a rule that while we could have our own bag of chips, they were not to be upstairs where we could make a mess with them. I don't think that Hidan was even listening to her, immune to sentences that used the word "rules."

With both carts filled to the brim, Yahiko coolly pulled out a platinum credit card to pay for almost a thousand dollars' worth of groceries while Konan unloaded the carts and Nagato bagged.

"What do you think, Konan?" Yahiko asked with regard to the amount of money they spent that day.

Without so much as a sigh or a shrug, she responded with "I expected as much."

I looked at Kisame and pale Zetsu who seemed to be in the same state of shock that I was and heard Sasori mutter a quiet "Damn" under his breath which did not go unnoticed by Hidan.

"Hey, hey, hey! Did you hear that? Did you hear that? He just swore!"

Konan simply glanced over her shoulder and politely asked Sasori to refrain from using profanity. She appeared to be more annoyed by Hidan's obnoxious tattling than Sasori's swearing which I found amusing.

The next day, Konan and Yahiko took us to the Mall of America, the biggest mall in the United States they said. All my life the only clothes I've ever worn were hand-me-downs from other kids at the orphanage that were either too big or too small for me.

I explained this concept to Kisame in the car who told me "You know that they sell more than just clothes there."

"I know." I answered. Malls sold shoes and jewelry too.

"There's an aquarium there." Kisame said.

"And an amusement park." Sasori added.

"Really?!"

Kisame chuckled. "Yeah. That orphanage really sheltered you, didn't it?"

I stopped listening once Sasori said that there was an amusement park inside the mall, dreaming about all the possibilities that were within reach.

"Don't get your hopes up," Yahiko said, "we're here to shop, not to ride roller coasters or look at fish." There was an enormous outcry. "We can do those things another day."

Konan turned around to address us all. "We're giving you all a one hundred dollar budget and," she glanced at Yahiko, "we'll be buying all of you cell phones for the upcoming school year."

A joyous uproar quickly replaced the disappointed groaning and complaining.

I was living the dream, riding in my adoptive parents' car, surrounded by my adoptive siblings – my new friends – going to the largest mall in the country with a one hundred dollar spending budget. My life was rapidly changing right before my eyes and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it yet.

"I say we get the new Xbox One." Hidan confidently announced from the back seat.

"No," Sasori said defiantly, turning around to confront Hidan, "we should get the PlayStation 4."

Confused, I leaned over to Itachi and asked what was going on.

"They're arguing about which gaming system they want to buy."

"Aren't those things expensive? Are they putting all of their money together or something?" I asked.

"They said that they were going to buy whatever gaming system we wanted but we had to agree." He said, nodding his head towards Yahiko and Konan.

"What about you guys?" Hidan asked, practically leaning over the seat in front of him, "what do you two think we should get?"

I shrugged, clueless as far as video games were concerned. I got a Gameboy for my birthday when I was a kid but the orphanage didn't have enough money to spend on the newest systems.

"I don't care." Itachi said.

"PlayStation 4 it is!" Sasori decided for us.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, how come you get to decide what they want?" Kisame asked him.

Sasori's logic was simple. "They're my roommates."

"If that's the case, then Kakuzu wants an Xbox One." Hidan said.

Although I didn't hear Kakuzu say anything, I can guess that his answer would've been similar to Itachi's.

"We're tied." Kisame said flatly.

"You're going to have to decide somehow because we are not buying both." Konan said.

There couldn't have been a tie, I thought. There were nine of us, without Yahiko and Konan. Hidan, Kisame, and Kakuzu wanted an Xbox One, Sasori and apparently Itachi and I wanted a PlayStation 4, and the twins had to have been divided. That left one more vote.

That's when I realized that all eyes were on Tobi.

"Xbox One it is." Yahiko said before Tobi could say anything.

"Why?" Sasori demanded while Hidan, Kisame and pale Zetsu celebrated with an exchange of high fives.

"He wants an Xbox One too!" Kisame proudly declared.

Sasori quickly retaliated. "Then Konan's on our side which makes it a tie again!"

All eyes found their way to Tobi again.

"You would be correct, however," Yahiko said, "three against two, majority rules."

"Heh?" Hidan grunted.

Yahiko chuckled and started to explain. "Itachi, Deidara, and Kakuzu didn't voluntarily choose sides. That makes me believe that they would be happy with whatever system you," he glanced at us in the rearview mirror, "picked out, the ones who actually care. Therefore, Kisame, Hidan, and Zetsu outnumber you and Zetsu, Sasori."

I was really starting to like Yahiko. I liked how fair he was when he made decisions and how he handled an otherwise chaotic situation. Sasori didn't feel the same way, it appeared.

"We tried." I told him with a sympathetic smile.

He shook his head. "We'll win next time, for sure."

"We're getting close." Konan said. "To get through the mall as efficiently as possible, we're going to break up into groups. So, find two other people that you want to go through the mall with."

For me, the choice was easy. Sasori and Itachi. Besides Kisame, they were the only two who I was the most comfortable with. Sasori looked at me and Itachi and nodded. Itachi glanced at me and nodded.

"We cool?" Sasori asked.

"We cool." I repeated back.

Itachi was already staring out the window again. He did that a lot when we were in the car.

Looking around, I could guess who everybody else had picked. The twins were obviously not splitting up, and as far as I could tell, between them, Hidan, Kisame and Kakuzu, Tobi was the least afraid of the twins and they seemed pretty fond of him as well for some strange, odd reason.

Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kisame were the odd men out. Kakuzu never talked, Hidan talked too much, and Kisame was somewhere in the middle. Everyone was afraid of Kakuzu, annoyed by Hidan, and Kisame, well, I don't know what everyone else thought of him.

Each group, Yahiko explained after we'd all chosen who we were traveling through the mall with, would be "chaperoned" by either himself, Konan, or Nagato.

While Hidan was happy with the possibility of Nagato as his chaperone, he was less than thrilled when he learned that Yahiko himself would be heading their group. Konan opted to stay close to Tobi, which left Nagato with Sasori, Itachi and me. Whoop-dee-doo.

I didn't dislike Nagato, per se, but I wasn't fond of the way he smelled. Konan wasn't kidding when she said that he wreaked of cigarette smoke. Not only that, but he looked like he could kick the bucket any minute now. He creeped me out.

After a sweater, two shirts, a pair of skinny jeans and brand new sneakers, I had exhausted my budget, and with twenty dollars' worth of Itachi's budget and help, I had managed to buy two more shirts and a bundle of socks.

Sasori spent half of his budget on two new pairs of shoes, a pair of skinny jeans, and a shirt and pocketed the leftover cash for later, and Itachi bought four books and a power cord.

"What do you think, Itachi?" I later asked him, showing off my new outfit which consisted of a turquoise t-shirt and dark navy skinny jeans.

He was typing on that laptop I'd seen him on once before. "You look like Sasori."

"Really?" I looked down at my attire and shrugged. "I like it." I said, taking a seat on his bed.

"I'm glad." He replied in his usual I-could-care-less monotone and closed the lid to the laptop.

While Itachi pulled the books he'd purchased today from the shopping bag, I kept my eyes on the black laptop sitting on the desk. "Did Yahiko let you borrow that?"

"It's mine."

"Really?!" I asked, unable to contain my excitement. "How?"

"I got it for Christmas last year."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I got a new sketchbook for Christmas last year which probably cost ten or twelve dollars! A brand new laptop would cost a fortune!" I raved. When I looked at Itachi though, he was staring at the floor.

The reality of the situation hit me hard. Itachi's parents must have bought him that laptop last Christmas. I bowed my head as well, not able to bring myself to look Itachi in the eye. "What's it like?"

Itachi looked up. "What do you mean?"

"What's it like to live in Connecticut." I asked, changing the topic. Itachi looked confused. "Arizona's a desert. It's flat, the houses are made of this thick plaster, the ground's full of cracks because it's so hot all the time. In the winter, it gets down to the high forties."

He smiled slightly and said "Connecticut's nice. It's a small state, bigger than Rhode Island, but not nearly as big as Arizona."

"Yeah." I nodded.

"It's really green. There's a lot of trees and grass although in the summer, if it gets hot enough, the ground does start to crack. In the winter though, the snow damages the roads which causes potholes."

"How cold does it get?"

"Very cold. In the negatives most of the time." My jaw dropped. Itachi smiled. "By the time winter comes, you'll see. It's pretty much the same here as it is there."

The idea of snow was definitely exciting, but the negative numbers were not so much.

"Deidara?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah?"

He stared at me for a long moment and then seriously asked "Please don't tell anyone."

He was talking about his parents again. "What about Sasori?" Itachi shook his head. "He's going to find out soon or later. What if he asks about your laptop too?"

"Sasori has his own laptop, Deidara."

My jaw dropped again and my shoulders fell to a slump. Did everybody except for me own a laptop? Tobi probably didn't, but that was beside the point. "I don't see what there is to hide, Itachi. Everyone's here for a reason. We don't have anyone anymore," I paused to think about my own situation, "and some of us never did."

"I know. But, it's too soon. I'd rather nobody ask questions about it just yet."

I smiled brightly at him. "Don't worry, Itachi. I promise I won't tell anyone." I held out my pinky finger on my left hand.

Itachi looked at me like I was crazy for still believing in something so childish as a pinky promise but held out his own pinky as well.

Just then, Sasori had entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Itachi and I having some sort of social exchange with each other. (We had since ended the pinky promise, which I'm glad he didn't see.) "What's going on?" He asked.

Itachi looked at me, his eyes almost pleading me to keep my promise. "Itachi and I were talking about where we're from," Itachi relaxed, "like how it's really hot in Arizona, and really cold in Connecticut in the winter. Surprisingly, the roads are both terrible."

Sasori pulled over his desk chair. "You wanna talk about _terrible_ roads? Let me tell you about the streets of Brooklyn."

* * *

Awww...adoptive sibling bonding...

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


	5. Chapter Four: Gaining Approval

Ever since Itachi told me about his parents' death, actually, he didn't tell me anything about their deaths. I'm not sure that they even died or what happened, but anyways, ever since Itachi and I had that conversation the other night, things between us have been pretty much the same. I mean, I still don't know anything about his life in Connecticut, apart from the weather there, and he still acts the same around me at home. I don't know, I guess I was expecting him to be friendlier with me or something but if anything, he's still as distant as he ever was except I know a little bit more about him than the others do? I don't know. Point is, Itachi's still acting the same as he always does – distant and emotionless.

In the meantime, Yahiko went back to work on Monday morning before I woke up. According to Konan, he had "important business to attend to and can't afford to take off for too many days in a row." Konan, on the other hand, could accomplish her work from home just as easily as she could in the office and was taking off every day except for Wednesday as she had an important meeting to attend.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Hidan shouted loud enough for almost everyone in the house to hear him.

"Uncle Nagato's here." Sasori said. He, along with Kisame and Hidan had been playing video games almost nonstop since Sunday evening when we got home from the mall with the new Xbox One. It was almost like Sasori had forgotten how hard he had rallied for the PlayStation 4 that same day.

I liked watching them play. They were an odd trio, Kisame, Hidan and Sasori. You had the tall, muscular guy with the hair that stood up and always smiled, the brooding red head with the punk style, ear spacers and "snake bites," and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered albino, seemingly getting along while shooting zombies and defending the fate of the world in the upstairs living room.

Sasori offered to teach me how to play sometime, saying that it was "in my blood as a male to play and understand video games." At first, I declined because truthfully, Hidan scared me, but watching the three of them get along so well has slowly been changing my mind.

Even though the twins were interested in playing too, most of the games were either designed for two players, four at the most. Thus, they spent most of their time outdoors kicking around their new soccer ball with Tobi, which I thought was nice. At first, Tobi creeped me out because of that mask he always wears, in fact, he still creeps me out, but I'm slowly starting to get over it. I'm just happy that the twins have taken a liking to him.

Kakuzu hasn't changed. Most days, he sits in his bedroom with the door shut until either Hidan or Kisame enters and then leaves a few minutes later. Kisame told me. Whenever he's not in his room, I see him sitting in the downstairs living room on one of the beige sectional couches reading a book, or in the breakfast nook, or at the dining room table – anywhere quiet, really. He has this really intense stare that bores holes into your skull and can probably turn your entire body to stone if you look him in the eyes for too long.

He and Itachi are really similar in that regard – quiet bookworms with intense stares, yet, for some reason, I never see them together. Most days, Itachi is reading one of his new books. He's already finished with the first one, and just starting the second, and they're thick books. Sometimes I catch him typing something on his laptop, but can never get close enough to see what he's typing. If I did, he'd just close the lid and go back to reading his current book without acknowledging my presence or saying a word about it.

Sitting at the dining room table that afternoon, absently drawing in my sketchbook, I felt out of place.

"How's it going, Deidara?" Nagato asked me and took a seat.

I shrugged, listlessly, and replied "fine" without making eye contact with him.

"Are you sure? You're usually livelier than this."

I shrugged again. "That was on the weekend, when everyone was hanging out with each other and having fun. Now everyone's doing their own thing."

"That's because, everyone, including you, have different interests." He said. "Itachi and Kakuzu like to read and spend more time alone, Sasori, Kisame and Hidan like to play video games all day, the twins prefer physical activity outdoors, and Tobi likes to do whatever the twins do. At least, that's what I've heard from Konan and Yahiko. And you, Deidara," he said, turning the topic of conversation to me, "you like to draw but you also like to be around others. Perhaps you can try combining the two. Try showing the others your artwork or try to do what they like to do. You never know, you might surprise yourself."

A small smile spread across my face. Talking to Nagato made me appreciate him more. "Thanks." I told him.

He smiled too. "Would you like to show me some of your artwork?" He asked.

I was more than happy to.

"Deidara," Konan asked me after dinner that night, "do you mind helping me with the dishes, please?"

I looked over my shoulder. Kisame, Hidan and Sasori were already running upstairs to continue their game, the twins ran outside to enjoy the last of the daylight, and Kakuzu and Itachi quietly pushed in their chairs, deposited their plates in the sink and disappeared upstairs. "Sure." I smiled.

"Nagato told me that you felt a little left out today." She said when I came in from the dining room with a stack of plates.

She stood by the sink, putting the dishes from today into the dishwasher while I handed her the dishes from the dining room. "Yeah." I shrugged.

"He told me he talked to you."

"Yeah." I said. I didn't really wanna talk about it anymore. It was done.

"He said that you're quite the artist." She said, trying to keep the conversation going. "I remember you showed Yahiko and me your art work when we first met. Have you done much since then?"

"Yeah."

She smiled. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see it sometime. And I'm sure Yahiko would be happy to see what you've done too."

I nodded and smiled back. "Sure."

We stood in silence for a bit with the sounds of clinking of ceramic plates and silverware clinking against each other in the sink filling the quiet room. I'd since gotten all of the plates from the dining table and was now rinsing them off individually before handing them to Konan to put in the dishwasher.

She was wearing gloves, the kind that the housewives in cartoons used to wear all the time. But Konan wasn't a housewife. She was a hardworking, intelligent woman wearing bright pink dish gloves as to not ruin her manicured nails, she explained sheepishly.

"You should really take Nagato's advice." Konan said once we were done. "Show your siblings your artwork. I think they'll really like it."

"Thanks. I will!" I said genuinely and bolted upstairs.

Itachi was lying on his side on the bed, reading a book.

"Hey, Itachi!"

Itachi glanced up from his reading. "Hey. What's up?" He asked and closed his book.

"Wanna see my artwork?" I asked, hardly able to contain my excitement.

Itachi shrugged. "If you want to show me. Sure." He said.

My smile faltered for a second. His response wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I was certain that after seeing my art, he'd be speechless.

"Okay," I told him, sitting next to him on the bed while I flipped through my portfolio. "This is a picture I painted using watercolors." I explained, removing the picture from the protective plastic and handing it to him to closely examine.

He took it delicately in his hands.

"It's of Arizona."

"I figured." He said.

"Yeah. Um, I painted it last summer. Remember how I told you that Arizona's basically a big, flat desert?"

"I recall."

"Well, there it is!" I beamed. Itachi's expression was unreadable. "Well, what do you think?" I prompted.

"It's good."

Not exactly the speechless I had in mind. I took the picture from him and quickly thumbed through my portfolio for something else that I thought would impress him.

"You could say that this is from my 'Blue Period.'" I explained, handing him a Picasso styled collage I had made of the orphanage director in March.

"It's not blue." Itachi said.

I took the picture from him. "I know, but you know how…you know, Picasso, right?" I asked.

Itachi nodded slowly. "He's a famous American painter best known for cubism. There was a time in his life when he was depressed and titled the paintings that came out of it 'The Blue Period.'"

Wow. "Yeah." I nervously chuckled. "That's kinda what I was getting at."

"Cubism?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah. The orphanage director didn't know what to say about it. I think I might have insulted her." I laughed, trying to change the subject. "So, what do you think of this one?"

Itachi looked it over for a moment and responded with "It's good."

I waited for him to say something else. "And?"

Itachi stared at me. "It's good. It's better than what I could do." He added after a moment.

My smile had since faded. "Thanks." I uttered, taking the picture back from him and putting it in my portfolio.

"I can see why she was insulted." Sasori said of my 'cubist' picture.

"Do you like it?" I asked him expectantly.

He put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "You know, most women don't like their noses to be portrayed that way."

"Okay, I get it! But what do you think of it?"

Sasori shrugged. "If I were a woman, I'd hate it too." He dismissed.

"But you're not a woman!" I rolled my eyes. "And besides, she said she liked it." I argued.

"Well, she lied to you." He said, pushing open the bathroom door. I had stopped him on his way to the bathroom when he took a break from video gaming.

"Wait, what about this one?" I asked, and darted back into the room to get my desert picture.

"I have to go, Deidara! I've been holding it in for hours now!" He protested.

"Here!" I said, practically shoving the piece in his face.

Sasori sighed, but looked it over regardless. "It's ironic. You used watercolors to paint a desert scene which is ironic because water is something the desert is in short supply of."

I took the picture back from him and looked it over. "I never thought of it that way." I said under my breath.

"Are you kidding me?" Sasori said. "It's so obvious. You can't tell me that you just up and decided 'I'm going to paint a desert using _watercolors_." My lack of response was telling enough. "You did, didn't you?" I nodded. "Oh, Deidara. Well, apart from the irony, your use of color is spot on. Now, if you excuse me, I have to piss."

Since showing Sasori my art work, I've shown Yahiko and Konan on an evening when Yahiko didn't have to work late. Yahiko and Konan worked at the same place, but never drove in together because Yahiko usually had to go in early or stay late.

Yahiko came home an hour later than Konan, just in time for dinner and then retreated into his study afterwards. Konan asked me again to help her clean up after dinner, a chore that I honestly didn't mind doing, when she asked me if I wanted to show Yahiko some of my work.

"Wow, this is really good, Deidara!" Konan beamed. She was leaning over Yahiko as they both flipped through the pages of my portfolio in Yahiko's study.

"I'm impressed. You are quite the artist, Deidara." Yahiko said, looking up at me and then directing his attention back to my art.

"Which one?" I asked, standing up from my chair. Yahiko's office was square, with bookshelves lining the wall opposite the door. His dark mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room with two chairs facing it. I wasn't sure how to act when in here, so I decided to do what I thought Itachi would do and stay seated in one of the chairs instead of peering over Yahiko's shoulder like Konan was.

However, the temptation was too great, as I eventually found myself lingering next to Yahiko's desk as well.

"This one, right here." Konan said, pointing a French-tipped finger nail at my Picasso piece.

"Oh, that one? Thanks."

"What was the inspiration for that one?" Yahiko asked.

Konan was looking at me too, curious as to what my answer would be. "I made it back in March; it's supposed to be the orphanage director."

Yahiko and Konan looked at the portrait more closely. "I can see it. Can you see it, Yahiko?"

Yahiko nodded. "I can."

"Very nice." Konan said.

The entire time they were looking at the picture, I debated whether or not to tell them what Itachi and Sasori thought of it. "Sasori said that any woman would think that it was insulting." I told them.

"Was she insulted by it? Did you show her?" Konan asked.

"I did. She looked confused, but she said that she liked it and insisted that I keep it so that I can always remember her." I said and added "She said that she was happy that I captured her good side."

Konan smiled. "It sounds like she liked it."

"I agree. Sasori can be blunt, sometimes, Deidara. Don't take it to heart." Yahiko said and flipped to the next drawing.

Yahiko and Konan's opinions of my art stayed pretty constant while they flipped through the rest of the portfolio. Konan repeated herself most of the time, praising my work, and saying how good it was, and how talented I was. She said it so often that I got tired to telling her "thank you." Yahiko, on the other hand, mostly nodded, and muttered "good" in respect to what he liked about the picture he was looking at, but never elaborated on exactly what he liked about it.

"I reiterate my earlier statement, you are quite the artist. I don't know many people who are as talented as you are besides Konan." He said, turning to smile at his wife. "Did you ever tell him that you're into art as well?"

"I mentioned that I liked origami." She replied.

Yahiko nodded. "Maybe Konan will show you some of her art work from when she was your age." He said. The look of dread on Konan's face said otherwise though. "Anyways, thank you for showing us your work, Deidara."

"No problem."

"If you keep it up, you might have a future in it, but be warned, a future in art is not an easy one." Yahiko warned me.

"Thanks." I said, as I walked out from the study. So far, Nagato, Yahiko and Konan seemed to be the only ones who were really impressed with my work. Sasori and Itachi just seemed indifferent. Maybe I should hold off showing the others my art, I thought, protectively clutching my portfolio to my chest as I headed upstairs.

* * *

It seems that Deidara is finally starting to find his place amongst this unlikely brood.

Author's note: Yes, I am aware that Sasori's piercings and his foul mouth are on par with that of Pain's piercings (in the original series) and Hidan's foul mouth, but being a New Yorker, I thought those characteristics would strengthen his character.

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


	6. Chapter Five: Celebration

Friday was Kakuzu's birthday, an event that gave rise to mixed feelings. Konan mentioned it to us when Kakuzu wasn't around earlier in the week, so we knew that it was going to happen, but what came as a shock to me was that Kakuzu was the oldest.

"I actually thought I was the oldest." Sasori brooded in the upstairs living room.

"How old are you?" Hidan asked.

"Fourteen. I'll be fifteen in November." Sasori answered.

Kisame groaned. "I'll be fifteen in March."

"What about you?" Hidan asked Itachi pointedly.

Itachi glared at him. "I have a name."

"Hibachi. There. How old are you?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's Itachi, and I'll be thirteen next June."

This caught me by surprise. "Wait, you'll be thirteen in June?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm older than you. I'll be thirteen in May!"

"Damn. I thought Hibachi was the oldest." Hidan muttered under his breath, loud enough for Itachi to hear.

After an extensive discussion, we confirmed that Kakuzu was the oldest and Itachi was the youngest of us. Sasori was the second oldest, followed by Kisame, who was going to be turning fifteen within the next year, the twins, and to my surprise, Tobi. Hidan would be turning fourteen next year, and me and Itachi would be turning thirteen.

I honestly thought that Itachi was as old as Sasori was, and that Tobi was younger than me. What's more, I couldn't believe that the topic of age hadn't come up sooner.

On the day of Kakuzu's birthday, no one seemed to be genuinely excited about it, not even Kakuzu himself. To be honest, though, I've never seen Kakuzu get excited about anything. According to pale Zetsu, Hidan came downstairs, wrapped his arm around Kakuzu's neck and said "how's it feel being another year older, old timer?"

Kakuzu then violently smacked Hidan's arm out of the way and hissed "get off me!" and pale Zetsu said that he was sure Hidan would've broken his arm.

"Leave him alone, Hidan." Nagato then said.

Hidan was, expectedly, not happy that Nagato had taken his side. "Did you see that? He nearly broke my arm in two!"

Pale Zetsu said that Nagato simply shook his head, advised Kakuzu to be a bit nicer to his siblings, and said no more about the situation.

Hidan was absolutely "thrilled" when Yahiko and Konan told us that they would be taking Kakuzu out to dinner and leaving the rest of us with Nagato while they celebrated his birthday.

"Are you serious? He's been here almost every day this week!" Hidan complained.

Konan bent down to Hidan's level, as well as she could wearing the heels that she was wearing, and whispered "Nagato has been here on Sunday, Wednesday, and today this week. Three days does not constitute as every day, and it's Kakuzu's birthday. Yahiko and I will be back before you go to bed. Trust me." She said in such a way that implied "you'll still be playing video games upstairs by the time we get back."

Hidan frowned as though Konan were treating him like a timid nine year old who didn't like to be left alone with the babysitter.

"We'll see you guys later tonight, okay?" Konan said over her shoulder as she followed Yahiko and Kakuzu out the door. "See you later, Nagato!" She called to him.

"Later guys, have fun!" He called back from the kitchen.

"So that's it?" I asked Sasori.

Sasori stopped quickly. He was most likely on his way upstairs to continue playing video games. "Is what it?" He asked.

"No cake, no singing, no presents?"

Sasori shrugged. "Do they really look like the cake-baking, singing, present giving type to you, Deidara?"

It was my turn to shrug this time. "I don't know. It's just that, when it's somebody's birthday, you sing happy birthday, eat cake, and open presents. At least, that's what we did at the orphanage."

"Some families do that." Sasori replied and turned towards the stairs.

"Did yours?" I asked hesitantly. I remember him saying that he lived with his grandmother while his parents were deployed overseas. Surely she must have gotten him a cake and sang to him and bought him a few presents for his birthday.

"Yeah." He said dispassionately, and vanished upstairs. "You better not have started without me, you bastards!" He shouted once he was upstairs.

"Itachi."

Itachi was doing what I expected him to be doing when I found him upstairs. Reading in bed. He didn't spend much time on his laptop since I last saw him with it.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Did your family bake cakes and sing to you on your birthday? And open presents?" I asked him.

His gaze hardened. He went back to what he was doing like I hadn't said a word. "We used to."

"Why'd you stop?"

He sighed. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

I pursed my lips together and nodded. "Okay." And left the room.

Outside our room, the twins were playing on the Xbox now with Sasori and Hidan. "Where's Kisame?" I asked the group.

"Left, left, left, left, left!" Hidan yelled when an explosion lit up the screen. "Fuckers!" He groaned. "I told you to go left! Where were you?" He demanded.

"I couldn't move!" Pale Zetsu argued.

"Sasori, do you know where Kisame went?" I asked.

Sasori grinned at the screen and without looking up, said "Dunno. Try downstairs."

"Thanks."

Sasori was right. Kisame was in the downstairs living room watching "Shark Week" on the Discovery channel.

"Hey, Deidara, what's up?" He asked cheerfully and patted a spot beside him on the cream colored sectional. "Take a seat."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

I hesitated, afraid that I would be met with the same vague answers that Sasori and Itachi had given me. "What do you usually do on your birthday?" I asked him.

"It depends. My foster parents liked to take me out to my favorite restaurant where you could eat dessert for free on your birthday and the staff would sing 'happy birthday.'" Finally, an answer that I was happy with. "And then sometimes we stayed home and did the same thing – cake, ice cream, singing and presents." His smile faded. "Don't tell me you didn't get to do any of that at that orphanage you grew up in!"

"No, we did all of that! Not the restaurant part, but the singing and the cake and stuff." I told him.

"Oh, okay." He relaxed and sat back against the sectional. "You had me worried there for a minute. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's Kakuzu's birthday, and we didn't do any of that. Don't you think it's weird?"

He shook his head. "Yahiko and Konan had to work today. What? Did you expect Nagato to bake the cake and sing 'happy birthday' to the guy?"

"No, it's just…weird, I guess."

"They're taking him to dinner." Kisame reminded me.

"I know, but what about the presents?"

Kisame chuckled and messed up my hair. "There's still tomorrow, you know."

"I know."

After that, I continued to sit next to Kisame and watched some of the show on TV. Currently, a man was in an iron cage surrounded by sharks.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kisame asked me. "Why'd you ask me? There were seven other people you could have asked – well, eight if you count him." He gestured to Nagato, who was standing on the back porch smoking a cigarette. I looked at Kisame as if to say "really?" He chuckled.

"Well I asked Sasori first."

"Oh this should be good. What'd he say?"

"He just said 'yeah.' That his family did celebrate his birthday with cake, presents and singing."

Kisame bobbed his head instead of nodding. "And that answer wasn't good enough for you?"

"He didn't seem very excited when he said it."

Kisame laughed outright. "Well of course he didn't! Sasori doesn't get excited about anything you ask him about!"

"Then I asked Itachi."

"Oh boy, I'm sure he was absolutely ecstatic when you asked him."

"He said that his family used to."

"Why'd they stop?" Kisame asked.

I shrugged. "He said that he didn't want to talk about it."

"Figures." Kisame said and shifted his focus back to the television screen. "Don't take this personally, Deidara, but not everybody's as open as you are."

"You're open." I pointed out.

"That's because I've got nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid of. What's done is done. It's in the past now. But that's not true for everyone else. They've got demons that they need to come to terms with and haven't yet. Me, I have."

Kisame's words made me think for a moment and for the rest of the evening. _They've got demons that they need to come to terms with and haven't yet_. What demons did Itachi have? And Sasori? Did I even have any demons that I wasn't even sure about?

I made it a point to look like I was thinking deeply about it when I came back to the bedroom. Itachi was on his laptop, reading the news. I thought that if I looked like I was thinking hard enough, Itachi would ask me what I was thinking about and we could talk about our pasts. He didn't.

The following afternoon, Konan went to the grocery store and came back with a large rectangular box that held a white frosted cake with the words "Happy 16th Birthday Kakuzu" written in cursive with sky blue icing.

"You thought we weren't going to celebrate as a family?" Konan asked me when I told her that I didn't think we were going to celebrate in the way that I had hoped. I liked how she could use the word "family" in that context only adopting us after a week. Had she used it in front of Hidan, it would've been totally different.

I took the box from Konan's arms and transported it to the kitchen, running into Tobi on the way. "Ooh, cake…" He said and sounded like he was drooling over it from under that mask of his.

"Yeah. It's a cake." I told him tersely, hoping that he would go away.

"Don't touch, Tobi. It's for later." Konan said.

"Okay!" And just like that, he was off.

"So you really thought we wouldn't celebrate this together?" She asked again.

I shrugged. "I guess."

"This is the first birthday that we'll be celebrating. Of course we were going to celebrate it traditionally." She smiled at me. "Yahiko and I usually celebrate our birthday with a nice dinner."

"A nice, romantic dinner alone?" I asked.

She shook her head. "We have a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day. We invite Nagato to have dinner with us on our birthday." She said like it would be rude not to include Nagato in all of her plans with Yahiko. Then it hit me.

"You guys share the same birthday?"

"Hm-hm." She nodded. "Isn't it a coincidence? Anyways, Yahiko and I want to spend time with each of you alone on your birthday and take you out on a nice, quiet dinner since we don't have the opportunity to spend much one-on-one time with you here at home, and also to get away from the chaos." She explained. "Plus, Kakuzu doesn't seem like the 'big party with siblings' type, does he?"

I shook my head.

"I thought so too." She said, crinkling her nose.

She was right. All throughout the singing, blowing out the candles, and cake cutting, Kakuzu's face stayed the same. Blank. Unattached. Emotionless. Even when it came to unwrapping his presents. The rest of us seemed more surprised than he was, anxiously awaiting the moment when he opened them to see what he got.

None of us knew what Kakuzu had asked for, or if he even needed to ask and Yahiko and Konan just bought him things.

He opened his card first. Hidan objected. Kakuzu pulled out a fifty dollar bill. Hidan's jaw dropped. Everyone else was taken aback. Except for Tobi and Itachi. Itachi was unfazed, and Tobi, on account of that stupid plastic mask, was unreadable.

"Fifty dollars?!" Hidan managed to exclaim. "_Holy shi_—"

"Hidan! Language." Konan hissed at him.

Kakuzu had two wrapped presents waiting for him on the dining room table. He gently picked up the first one, a small, flat, square. It was an iTunes gift card for fifty dollars.

"_Another fifty_ _fuckin—_" Hidan was about to say, but caught himself. Konan's glare softened slightly.

Next was a large, rectangular box.

"Shake it!" Pale Zetsu said.

He didn't and picked at the edges of the simple green wrapping paper. Once he pried one of the edges lose, he pulled the wrapping paper off completely in one fluid movement to reveal…

"A LAPTOP!?" Hidan was shouting now.

"Hidan. Sit. Down." Yahiko said through gritted teeth.

Kakuzu held up the box, taking it all in, reading everything. A bright flash went off. Konan was holding a camera in her hands and smiled widely.

"In addition," Yahiko said. Kakuzu looked up. "Now that you're sixteen, Konan and I decided that we would pay for driving lessons."

Hidan was speechless. Finally. Konan was still smiling and holding the camera at her waist in case another photo opportunity were to arise. Nagato was smiling too. Seeing Nagato around was normal to me now. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and Yahiko and Konan needed the extra help sometimes. I hated to admit it, but he seemed like part of the family now too.

* * *

Author's note: Yes, I know that Deidara is technically younger than Itachi, but since his birthday is in May, and I had to scrunch up the ages, he's now older than Itachi is...that, and I thought it would be more interesting if the two of them were in the same grade.

So now we know a little more about Yahiko and Konan's family dynamic as well as the kids' various ages, and a little bit of intrigue on Sasori and Itachi's part.

Personally, my favorite part was what Kisame told Deidara about having demons. He seems like he would be the most chill out of all of them.

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


	7. Chapter Six: The End of Summer

Author's note: This is the last chapter I have completed for this story which means it may be a while before I upload another chapter...in the meantime, I'd like to thank all of you who've read up until this point, and if you're patient, I might get back to it sooner than you think!

* * *

"Boys! Boys! Come here!" Konan called.

I had been sketching nothing in particular when she called us and climbed down from my bed.

Konan was standing in the middle of the upstairs living room in front of the paused TV screen. Hidan, the twins, Kisame and Sasori were sitting on the couches looking both bored and irritated with this "family meeting" that Konan had called forth. Tobi was also present, nervously wringing his hands while he stood by the doorway. Yahiko entered a few minutes later and took his place next to Konan and Kakuzu emerged from his bedroom shortly afterwards.

"Good, now that you're all here, I have something to say to you." She addressed the group.

"Really?" Hidan said sarcastically.

Yahiko regarded him with a sharp look and Konan continued. "This here," she gestured to the couches, "has got to change."

"We're remodeling?" Pale Zetsu asked.

"Good! Because these couches stink." Sasori added.

"We are not remodeling." Konan said. "The five of you have been playing video games all day, every day and that needs to change."

The room was silent.

"Why?" Hidan asked.

Konan sighed. Yahiko stayed quiet and stood next to her with his arms crossed like she was the president and he was the secret service. "Summer's over. You'll be starting school on Monday where you'll have plenty of time to sit indoors for hours at a time."

"And?" Hidan asked. "All the more reason to keep playing video games before it starts!"

"It's nice outside!" She walked over to the window and pulled open the blinds. The specific group that they were addressing hissed like the light had scalded them. "Of course you wouldn't know that because the blinds are closed!"

"My eyes!" Sasori complained. "It burns!"

"Listen to Konan." Yahiko said.

"You need to go out and have fun, bond with each other, play games, do some exercise, actually interact with one another." She said.

"We do interact with one another!" Hidan argued.

"Yeah," Sasori jumped in, "we have to interact to avoid getting killed!"

"That's different." She said. "The three of you have been up here playing video games every chance you've gotten since we bought you an Xbox One, and now even the twins are getting sucked in! Now, Tobi doesn't have anybody to play with outside anymore!"

Hidan took the defensive. "So this is about Tobi?!"

"No, this is not about Tobi. This is about all of you." She said, addressing the entire group now. "All of you are too busy doing your own thing. I never see you interact unless we're having dinner together, during which time you're too busy scarfing down your food so that you can go back to what it is you were doing all day, or you're all yelling at a TV screen!"

Her words hurt. I tried my best to bond with my siblings but Konan was right. Everybody was doing their own thing that it was hard to bond with them.

"How would you know?! You spend all your time on your computer in the dining room all day!" Hidan retorted.

"Working!" She corrected him. Yahiko clutched her wrist and she regained her composure. "It's the weekend, it's summer, and it's nice outside. What would you boys like to do?"

"Play video games." Hidan muttered.

"I'm giving you the chance to choose something that involves more than just two people, Hidan."

"The others can watch."

Konan ignored him. Kisame half raised his hand. "Kisame?" Konan asked.

"How about the pool? Is there a pool around here?"

She looked at Yahiko who was saying something in her ear. "Yes, there is." She said.

"Show of hands, how many of you would like to go to the pool today?" Yahiko asked.

The twins raised their hands. Kisame raised his. Tobi had his hand raised too. I raised my hand and looked at Itachi. He didn't raise is hand.

"You can stay home if you want." Konan said. Everyone's hands fell except for Tobi's and the twins' hands. "But you will not be allowed to play video games while you're here." Everyone raised their hand again, including Hidan and Sasori this time. Kakuzu and Itachi did not.

Yahiko glanced around the room. "The pool it is, then."

"Alright then. Yahiko will be taking you guys to the pool—" Konan was saying when Yahiko interrupted her.

"I have work to finish up here."

"I thought you were done?" She asked.

He opened his eyes wider than usual and her eyes softened. Like a secret form of code between them.

"Change of plans, I'll be going to the pool with you and Yahiko will stay here with Kakuzu and Itachi. Boys, get dressed. We're leaving soon."

"Come to the pool with us, it'll be fun!" I said to Itachi when we got back to the room.

He shook his head. "No thank you."

"Why not? What are you going to do here by yourself with Yahiko and Kakuzu?" I asked him.

Itachi shrugged his shoulders. "Read."

My shoulders slumped. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay," I said and fetched a change of clothes to go to the pool with.

When we got back from the pool, I found Itachi where I always expected to find him, inside of our bedroom. Konan told Sasori and the others that they could play video games when they got back until dinner and that afterwards, Konan and Yahiko would put them on a schedule so that they didn't spend all day playing games.

"Take a shower first!" I heard Konan yelling at them as soon as their game resumed. "You're covered in chlorine and if those couches are wet you're cleaning them!" She threated as she climbed the stairs.

Sasori entered our room a few seconds later and threw his shirt on his chair. "Well," he said, walking into the closet to fetch a change of clothes, "If either of you need me, I'll be taking a shower." He said and left the room. He poked his head back in a few seconds later. "Don't need me. Got it?" I nodded. "Good."

I smiled and looked back at Itachi. He was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head like he was taking a nap while we were gone but I doubted that. Itachi didn't take naps.

"This is different." I told him. "I expected you to be reading or at least on your laptop reading."

Itachi didn't say anything.

"You should've been there, Itachi. We had so much fun!" I told him.

He raised his eyebrows. "Great." He said with mock-enthusiasm.

"You know how Hidan really didn't wanna go?"

"Hm-hm."

"Well, he changed his mind when he saw Konan's legs!" I chuckled at the thought. "She didn't get in; she was wearing this cover-up thing over top of her swim suit, and had this big floppy sun hat and this big pair of sun glasses! She looked like a movie star, reading a romance novel by the side of the pool; you should've been there!"

"You said."

"Next time you can read next to the pool or something!"

"No thanks."

"You don't have to get in."

"I'll pass."

I furrowed my eyebrows in concern. Itachi never once looked at me. The entire time I was talking to him, he stared at the ceiling and I know that he didn't usually get excited about things, but this was different from usual. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine."

"Everything doesn't look fine, is something bothering you?"

"I'm fine, Deidara."

I walked closer to him. He finally turned his head to look at me and raised his eyebrows. I decided to change the topic. "So, what'd you and Kakuzu do with Yahiko?"

"We took Kakuzu to the driver's license center to get his permit."

I perked up. "Did he get one?"

"Yeah."

"That's cool! What'd you and Yahiko do while you waited?"

"Nothing."

"The entire time?" I asked, confused. "We were gone for at least two hours, what else did you guys do?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He said impatiently and closed his eyes. "I don't want to talk right now, Deidara."

I cast my eyes down at the floor. "Okay."

At that moment, Sasori reentered and stopped at the doorframe. "Awk-ward."

* * *

And that's all for now, folks!

Hopefully I will be inspired to write more for this story in the NEAR future, but for now, I think I will focus on my other three for the moment...

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001


End file.
